Many farmers are already familiar with California DWR’s CIMIS program, with weather stations that collect data for them all over the state. What they may not know is some newer features to the program that can help them better determine irrigation needs for their crops wherever they may be. Watch this brief interview with Steve Ewert as he explains.
The new National Watermelon Promotion Board (NWPB) Watermelon Supplier Database is the perfect platform to connect retail and foodservice buyers with suppliers as the summer season takes off for America’s favorite melon.
Each year the NWPB staff promote watermelon to retail and foodservice audiences, both in-person and digitally. When a contact asks where they can get watermelon, this new database with help connect the dots. The new Watermelon Supplier Database is based on the new watermelon.org in the Industry, Retail and Foodservice sections and at watermelon.org/supplierdatabase, so all interested groups can easily access the database.
The Board is still working to populate the database so if a member of the watermelon industry is interested, please visit watermelon.org/supplierdatabase. Multiple roles in the industry are encouraged to be a part of the database including wholesalers, growers, importers, brokers, processors, seed, transportation companies and more.
Please reach out to supplierdatabase@watermelon.org with any questions.
About National Watermelon Promotion Board
The National Watermelon Promotion Board (NWPB), based in Winter Springs, Florida, was established in 1989 as an agricultural promotion group to promote watermelon in the United States and in various markets abroad. Funded through a self-mandated industry assessment paid by more than 800 watermelon producers, handlers and importers, NWPB mission is to increase consumer demand for watermelon through promotion, research and education programs.
Watermelon packs a nutritious punch, with each serving providing an excellent source of Vitamin C (25%), a source of Vitamin B6 (8%), and a delicious way to stay hydrated (92% water), with only 80 calories. Watermelon consumption per capita in the United States was an estimated 15.6 pounds in 2019. Watermelon consumption in the United States was approximately 5.1 billion pounds in 2019. The United States exported an additional 321.2 million pounds of watermelon. For additional information, visit www.watermelon.org. 
In April, the United States Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling clarifying the reach of the federal Clean Water Act. The Court decided that a discharge of pollutants from a point source to groundwater is subject to regulation under the act, if the discharge is the “functional equivalent” of a discharge to waters of the United States (which include rivers, streams, creeks, lakes, and other surface waters).
This ruling has the potential to both (1) expand the range of discharges, including from agricultural operations, that are required to obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit, and (2) increase the risk of citizen suit litigation alleging that operations discharging to groundwater have failed to comply with the Clean Water Act.
The County of Maui Decision: Background
The case decided by the Court, County of Maui, Hawaii v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, concerned a wastewater reclamation facility operated by Maui County, which pumps approximately four million gallons of treated wastewater effluent per day into groundwater. The effluent travels through groundwater to the Pacific Ocean.
In 2012, environmental groups filed a citizen suit under the Clean Water Act, arguing that even though the wastewater was discharged to groundwater, the county was violating the act because it was discharging a pollutant from a point source (the wastewater facility) to waters of the United States (which include “territorial seas,” like the ocean waters around Hawaii) without an NPDES permit. The environmental groups prevailed in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the case was then heard by the Supreme Court.
The Court’s New Rule: The “Functional Equivalent” of a Direct Discharge Requires an NPDES Permit
The Supreme Court reversed the environmental group’s victory and sent the case back to the lower courts to evaluate the key issues under a new standard set by the Court: the Clean Water Act requires a permit when there is a direct discharge from a point source into waters of the United States or “when there is the functional equivalent of a direct discharge.”
The Court noted that the functional equivalence evaluation “depends upon how similar to (or different from) the particular discharge is to a direct discharge.” Beyond that, the Court declined to provide more specificity, asserting “there are too many potentially relevant factors applicable to factually different cases,” which could be addressed in future court decisions and EPA and state administrative guidance. However, it did list “some” of the factors that “may prove relevant”:
1) transit time;
2) distance traveled;
3) nature of the material through which the pollutant travels;
4) extent to which the pollutant is diluted or chemically changed as it travels;
5) amount of pollutant entering waters of the United States relative to the amount that leaves the point source;
6) manner by or area in which the pollutant enters the waters of the United States; and
7) degree to which the pollutant has maintained its specific identity at that point of entry.
Importantly, the Court stated: “Time and distance will be the most important factors in most cases, but not necessarily every case.”
Finally, it cautioned that implementation of its rule “should not create serious risks either of undermining state regulation of groundwater or of creating loopholes that undermine the statute’s basic federal regulatory objectives.”
The Court’s Ruling Will Impact the Regulated Community, Including Some Agricultural Operations
Although storm water runoff and return flows from irrigated agriculture may travel through groundwater to waters of the United States, the County of Maui holding did not alter the Clean Water Act’s exemption of these from the definition of a “point source.” An NPDES permit is still not required for such flows.
However, states have the authority to regulate nonpoint sources like agricultural runoff and may choose to modify the scope of their permitting requirements in light of County of Maui and subsequent developments in Clean Water Act regulation.
Moreover, to the extent that any agricultural operations involve mechanical processes that generate and discharge wastewater to the ground (and ultimately to groundwater), there is now an increased risk that such discharges could be regulated under the Clean Water Act and require an NPDES permit. The ruling may also impact operations dealing with accidental releases of contaminants to groundwater, as well as owners/operators of sites with legacy environmental contamination.
Right now, it is unclear to what extent the Supreme Court’s new rule is a “game-changer” in terms of how many dischargers to groundwater will be brought into the NPDES permitting regime. As with other aspects of Clean Water Act regulation—such as section 404 dredge-and-fill permitting—implementation by states and federal courts will vary broadly, until the Supreme Court revisits the issue at some future (likely, much later) date. Until then, dischargers will need to track the judicial decisions and administrative guidance in their jurisdiction to ensure they remain in compliance.
County of Maui may also spur an increase in citizen suit litigation by private parties and environmental groups challenging a discharger’s compliance with NPDES permitting requirements. Such litigation could claim that an operation’s discharges to groundwater trigger the requirement for NPDES permitting, even if regulators have not yet taken such a position. If successful, such suits could result in courts assessing penalties (payable to the federal government) and/or payment of the citizen enforcer’s attorney’s fees.
In light of the evolving regulatory and legal framework and related risks, agricultural growers and producers should consider proactively assessing their exposure to a claim—by either a regulator or citizen enforcer—that their operations require an NPDES permit. If the exposure is significant, they may consider options to mitigate regulatory and liability risks such as preemptively submitting an NPDES permit application or requesting a permitting determination from the relevant implementing authority.
— By Don Sobelman, Sarah Bell, and John Ugai
Donald Sobelman and Sarah Bell are environmental law partners and John Ugai is an environmental law associate at Farella Braun + Martel, a law firm based in San Francisco.
The California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) has partnered with Dairy Council of California to teach ag literacy in an exciting and innovative way that brings the farm experience to students as they learn from home. The Farm to You Virtual Field Trip connects the successful Dairy Council of California Mobile Dairy Classroom assembly experience with a virtual trip to a California dairy farm, providing students with daily online lessons available now through June 5th. Educators, students and their families can find more information and sign-up for a session at HealthyEating.org/Virtual-Field-Trip.
Free to participants, the Farm to You Virtual Field Trip consists of a 45-minute Mobile Dairy Classroom lesson and “live” visit to a California dairy farm. Aimed at increasing ag literacy, the sessions teach attendees the importance of healthy eating patterns as well as where their food comes from, including a tour to teach them how a dairy farm operates, how milk and dairy products are produced, and the nutritional value of these products. Two sessions are held each day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, from Tuesday through Friday and feature a rotating team of five farmers from Sonoma to Tulare counties.
“Farm to You is a tremendous way for children to learn about the science of agriculture while also learning where their food comes from directly from the farmers,” said Jennifer Giambroni, Director of Communications at the CMAB. “For our farming community, this is a tremendous opportunity to connect directly with consumers across the state.”
“We are proud to help educate students, families and the entire school community the importance of ag literacy and provide them with an experiential connection to where their food comes from,” said Shannan Young, Director of Food Access at Dairy Council of California. “We can encourage healthier students, families and communities by teaching them more about our food system, how to eat healthfully, and the important role of milk and dairy foods for growth and development as part of daily healthy eating patterns.”
California is the number one dairy state and has a 200-year heritage of multi-generational dairy farming. The state’s 1200 dairy farm families lead the nation in sustainable farming practices.
About Real California Milk/the California Milk Advisory Board
The California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB), an instrumentality of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, is funded by the state’s dairy families and is one of the largest agricultural marketing boards in the United States. With a mission to increase demand for products made with Real California Milk, the CMAB is celebrating 50 years promoting California’s sustainable dairy products in the state, across the U.S. and around the world through advertising, public relations, research, and retail and foodservice promotional programs. For more information and to connect with the CMAB, visit RealCaliforniaMilk.com, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.
About Dairy Council of California
For over 100 years, Dairy Council of California has empowered stakeholders, including educators, health professionals and community leaders, to elevate the health of children and families through the pursuit of lifelong healthy eating habits. Funded by California’s dairy farm families and local milk processors and under the guidance of California Department of Food and Agriculture, Dairy Council of California’s free science-based nutrition education resources, Mobile Dairy Classroom assemblies, training programs and online resources educate millions of students and families in California and throughout the United States. Learn more at HealthyEating.org.
There are many amazing things in nature, and a USDA scientist in California is exploring evidence that Bing cherries contain some wondrous health possibilities.
“We’re testing whether the consumption of sweet cherry juice can improve human health across several cognitive and physiological systems in the body,” said Kevin Laugero, a systems physiologist and research nutritionist with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Western Human Nutrition Research Center in Davis, CA. The study explores evidence that Bing cherries contain bioactive compounds that improve human health. Fresh cherries aren’t available all year, so demonstrating the effects of cherry juice would potentially circumvent limited access to the benefits of this otherwise seasonal fruit.
The overall goal of Laugero’s study is to test the effects of sweet cherry juice on cardiovascular disease risk factors and cognitive functions in at-risk persons, specifically examining biomarkers that indicate conditions associated with metabolic syndrome.
“Metabolic syndrome is a term used to describe the presence of a cluster of factors associated with increased risk for developing cardiovascular and other chronic diseases,” Laugero said.
The American Heart Association defines metabolic syndrome as the presence of three or more of the following conditions: abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high triglyceride levels, low HDL cholesterol levels, and high fasting glucose levels.
“Many of the health benefits of consuming cherries may be due to their anti-inflammatory potential,” he said. “Some chronic diseases and conditions, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, arthritis, and Alzheimer’s have been linked to elevated inflammation.”
According to Laugero, cherries are a good source of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds, including vitamin C, beta-carotene, flavonoids, and anthocyanins—the pigment that gives the cherries their dark-red color. These compounds may reduce inflammation by reducing oxidative stress, lipid oxidation, and other inflammatory regulating molecules.
Laugero and retired ARS chemist Darshan Kelley have collaborated on other cherry-related research, including the recent publication of review article on the health benefits of cherries.
Total acreage harvested by mechanical means was 44,091, nearly 30 percent of the State’s total raisin-type grape acreage, according to the Pacific Region Office of USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. The Overhead Trellis System was used on 13,031 bearing acres in 2019, accounting for 8.8 percent of the total raisin-type grape acreage. Fresno and Madera County growers have 49 and 42 percent of the Overhead Trellis acreage in the State, respectively. Kern and Tulare County growers have 6 and 2 percent of the Overhead Trellis acreage, respectively. Other mechanical harvest systems include Continuous Tray at 19 percent of the raisin acreage, South Side Trellis with 0.4 percent and Open Gable with about 1.2 percent of the raisin-type grape acreage.
Although Fresno County has the most acreage mechanically harvested, at 32,105, that acreage only represents 31 percent of the Fresno County raisin-type grape acreage. Madera County growers harvest 43 percent of their raisin-type grape acreage by mechanical means.
By variety, Thompson Seedless grape acreage harvested mechanically is 30,922 or 25 percent of the total Thompson Seedless grape acreage. Forty-nine percent of the Fiesta grape acreage is harvested mechanically and 67 percent of the Selma Pete acreage is harvested mechanically.
Most California raisins are produced by sun drying after placing bunches on paper trays on terraces between vine rows. The Overhead Trellis System has led to increased production of dried-on-the-vine raisins, increased machine harvesting, and decreased hand labor use.
PROCEDURES
The Pacific Region Office of USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, in cooperation with the California Department of Food and Agriculture, conducts an annual grape acreage survey. The 2019 Grape Acreage Report, published in April, summarized the latest survey results. At the request of the raisin industry, an additional question was added to the grape acreage survey to gather information on raisin-type acreage that is harvested mechanically. In addition to the mechanical harvest data, producers were asked to update acreage by variety and year planted. Growers were initially contacted by mail and follow up was done by telephone. This report summarizes data for mechanical harvest methods of raisin-type grapes. The totals included are only for those that voluntarily reported to this survey.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We sincerely thank the many vineyard operators, owners, and management firms for providing the information. Funding for the raisin-type grape acreage report was provided by the Raisin Administrative Committee.
MECHANICAL HARVEST METHODS
OVERHEAD TRELLIS – Grapes are dried directly on the vine, forming a canopy over the rows. It allows the mechanical grape harvester to get underneath and gather the dried fruit.
SOUTH SIDE TRELLIS – In an east-west row orientation vineyard, an angled cross-arm is added to each trellis stake to support two wires on which fruiting canes are tied. The southern exposure of the fruit facilitates drying. The raisins may be harvested mechanically with a south side harvester.
CONTINUOUS TRAY – Grapes are mechanically harvested and laid out on a continuous (rather than individual) thin sheet of paper where they dry in the sun for two to three weeks.
OPEN GABLE – Trellis wires are connected between rows of v-shaped supports. The unique V-shape lets in additional sunlight and traps the heat. This greatly improves ripening and drying. Raisins are harvested mechanically with a harvester that has been modified to place the raisins in bins instead of gondolas.
Antibiotics play an essential role in maintaining animal health and productivity. To provide guidance and knowledge on antibiotic use and management practices, it is important to constantly update our understanding on the role of therapeutic antibiotic use and its impact on animal health. A veterinary project is being conducted by UC Davis to better understand antimicrobial resistance patterns in dairy calves, and we are looking for interested farms to participate in the study.
The project will last around 1-2 months, with up to 2 people visiting the farm a few times a week to collect fecal samples and health data from animals. Any and all data generated will be made available to the owner/manager, and anyone entering the premises is willing to sign a waiver liability release if requested. Identity of participants will remain confidential. No photos will be taken on the facility without consent, and participants are free to back out of the study at any point, if they wish to do so.
If interested and/or to obtain more information, please contact:
Katie Lee (UCD, graduate student): lctlee@ucdavis.edu (408-239-9140) Rob Atwill (UCD, Professor): ratwill@ucdavis.edu (530-754-2154)
A direct, downloadable version of this video is available here.
We all must do our part if we’re going to protect California citrus from this disease – and field crews are at the forefront. For additional resources and videos, please visit CitrusInsider.org/Resources.
On May 24, 2020, the Philippines will formally open its market to U.S. fresh highbush blueberries. Since the United States is the only country with official access to the Philippine market, U.S. suppliers are poised to take advantage of the opportunity to supply the Philippine retail and food service sectors. Traders estimate sales of U.S. fresh blueberries could reach $500,000 this season, with greater potential in the years to come.
The Philippine Department of Agriculture’s (DA) regulation allowing complete market access for U.S. fresh blueberries will take effect on May 24, 2020, making the United States the only country with formal market access. U.S. suppliers and Philippine importers now have much stronger incentive to cultivate trade relationships to supply the expanding food retail sector, and eventually the food service sector once COVID-19 community quarantine measures are eased.
In the past, DA had allowed limited and intermittent importation of fresh blueberries specifically for hotels, restaurants, and high-end supermarkets. Sales over the past five years (2015 to 2019) averaged $150,000 each year (roughly 20 metric tons). With formal market access in place for the entire Philippine market, multiple trade contacts forecast U.S. sales could reach $500,000 this season and exceed $1,000,000 in succeeding years if there is a concerted marketing effort to increase consumer awareness on the availability, quality, and health benefits of U.S. fresh blueberries.
Like all fresh fruit importation, a licensed importer must secure a Sanitary and Phytosanitary Import Clearance (SPSIC) from the DA’s Bureau of Plant Industry. Products must not load for export before their issuance, must be shipped within 20 days following their issuance, and must arrive in the Philippines within 60 days from the must ship-out date.
The full import requirements are outlined in the Administrative Circular, which can be found here: https://law.upd.edu.ph/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/DA-AC-No-05-Series-of-2020.pdf.
Tariff Rates
The Most Favored Nation (MFN) tariff rate for blueberries is seven percent and subject to 12 percent Value Added Tax or VAT.
Competition
Aside from the United States being the only approved country to source fresh imported blueberries, the Philippines has only very limited local production. Consistently supplying the multitude of hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, and other retail outlets with quality product remains a challenge for Philippine growers due to limited production area and the lack of adequate post-harvest facilities and cold chain infrastructure.
Further Information and Assistance
USDA-FAS at the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines is ready to help exporters of U.S. agricultural products achieve their objectives in the Philippines. Contact us at AgManila@fas.usda.gov
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced details of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), which will provide up to $16 billion in direct payments to deliver relief to America’s farmers and ranchers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to this direct support to farmers and ranchers, USDA’s Farmers to Families Food Box program is partnering with regional and local distributors, whose workforces have been significantly impacted by the closure of many restaurants, hotels, and other food service entities, to purchase $3 billion in fresh produce, dairy, and meat and deliver boxes to Americans in need.
“America’s farming community is facing an unprecedented situation as our nation tackles the coronavirus. President Trump has authorized USDA to ensure our patriotic farmers, ranchers, and producers are supported and we are moving quickly to open applications to get payments out the door and into the pockets of farmers,” said Secretary Perdue. “These payments will help keep farmers afloat while market demand returns as our nation reopens and recovers. America’s farmers are resilient and will get through this challenge just like they always do with faith, hard work, and determination.”
Beginning May 26, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), through the Farm Service Agency (FSA), will be accepting applications from agricultural producers who have suffered losses.
CFAP provides vital financial assistance to producers of agricultural commodities who have suffered a five-percent-or-greater price decline due to COVID-19 and face additional significant marketing costs as a result of lower demand, surplus production, and disruptions to shipping patterns and the orderly marketing of commodities.
Farmers and ranchers will receive direct support, drawn from two possible funding sources. The first source of funding is $9.5 billion in appropriated funding provided in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Stability (CARES) Act to compensate farmers for losses due to price declines that occurred between mid-January 2020, and mid-April 2020 and provides support for specialty crops for product that had been shipped from the farm between the same time period but subsequently spoiled due to loss of marketing channels. The second funding source uses the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act to compensate producers for $6.5 billion in losses due to on-going market disruptions.
Non-specialty crops eligible for CFAP payments include malting barley, canola, corn, upland cotton, millet, oats, soybeans, sorghum, sunflowers, durum wheat, and hard red spring wheat. Wool is also eligible. Producers will be paid based on inventory subject to price risk held as of January 15, 2020. A payment will be made based 50 percent of a producer’s 2019 total production or the 2019 inventory as of January 15, 2020, whichever is smaller, multiplied by the commodity’s applicable payment rates.
Livestock eligible for CFAP include cattle, lambs, yearlings and hogs. The total payment will be calculated using the sum of the producer’s number of livestock sold between January 15 and April 15, 2020, multiplied by the payment rates per head, and the highest inventory number of livestock between April 16 and May 14, 2020, multiplied by the payment rate per head.
For dairy, the total payment will be calculated based on a producer’s certification of milk production for the first quarter of calendar year 2020 multiplied by a national price decline during the same quarter. The second part of the payment is based a national adjustment to each producer’s production in the first quarter.
For eligible specialty crops, the total payment will be based on the volume of production sold between January 15 and April 15, 2020; the volume of production shipped, but unpaid; and the number of acres for which harvested production did not leave the farm or mature product destroyed or not harvested during that same time period, and which have not and will not be sold. Specialty crops include, but are not limited to, almonds, beans, broccoli, sweet corn, lemons, iceberg lettuce, spinach, squash, strawberries and tomatoes. A full list of eligible crops can be found on farmers.gov/cfap. Additional crops may be deemed eligible at a later date.
There is a payment limitation of $250,000 per person or entity for all commodities combined. Applicants who are corporations, limited liability companies or limited partnerships may qualify for additional payment limits where members actively provide personal labor or personal management for the farming operation. Producers will also have to certify they meet the Adjusted Gross Income limitation of $900,000 unless at least 75 percent or more of their income is derived from farming, ranching or forestry-related activities. Producers must also be in compliance with Highly Erodible Land and Wetland Conservation provisions.
Producers can apply for assistance beginning on May 26, 2020. Additional information and application forms can be found at farmers.gov/cfap. Producers of all eligible commodities will apply through their local FSA office. Documentation to support the producer’s application and certification may be requested. FSA has streamlined the signup process to not require an acreage report at the time of application and a USDA farm number may not be immediately needed. Applications will be accepted through August 28, 2020.
To ensure the availability of funding throughout the application period, producers will receive 80 percent of their maximum total payment upon approval of the application. The remaining portion of the payment, not to exceed the payment limit, will be paid at a later date as funds remain available.
USDA Service Centers are open for business by phone appointment only, and field work will continue with appropriate social distancing. While program delivery staff will continue to come into the office, they will be working with producers by phone and using online tools whenever possible. All Service Center visitors wishing to conduct business with the FSA, Natural Resources Conservation Service, or any other Service Center agency are required to call their Service Center to schedule a phone appointment. More information can be found at farmers.gov/coronavirus.